Christmas, 1977
by whalerider
Summary: An ordinary day of Christmas shopping leads to a magical moment on the lives of Lily and James
1. Chapter 1

Lily shivered delicately as the icy, sleet-laden wind whipped her red hair into her eyes. She fingered her wand nervously, glancing around at the unusually empty streets of Hogsmeade. Ordinarily, the snowy village would be packed with Hogwarts students and villagers doing last-minute Christmas shopping; the recent surge of disappearances now meant the cheerful little town was nearly deserted.

James twirled his wand in a complex circle around the shivering girl beside him, creating a bubble of warm, dry air that quickly surrounded her and dried her sodden hair instantly. He reddened slightly as he caught the look of relief in her eyes, and edged closer to his girlfriend.

The pair grinned as almost instantly, loud objections and groans broke out behind them. "Aww, come on, mate," Sirius whined pathetically, "We're bloody freezing over here!" His protests were soon joined by those of Remus and Peter. "How come she gets the nice warm air thingie, huh?"

"Because she's _my_ girl, not yours, _mate_," James shot back over his shoulder. He turned and stuck his tongue out at the three boys trailing behind him, receiving only sympathetic smiles in response.

"And besides, if you'd been paying attention in Charms third year, Padfoot, instead of ogling that Samantha girl, you would have known how to do that charm in the first place." Remus crossed his arms and gave Sirius a smug grin.

Sirius spluttered, "But James wasn't paying attention then either! He was ogling Lily! Explain how he knows that charm, then!" He pointedly ignored the filthy look thrown by James, and grinned at Lily's raised eyebrows.

Now walking backwards, James smiled at Sirius. "That, my dear Padfoot, is one of the advantages of being on the Quidditch team: team captain taught us that one ages ago, so we wouldn't freeze to our brooms during a match." He spun, caught Lily in his arms, and spun her in a dizzying circle. Placing her gently back on the frozen ground, he darted in for a kiss.

Lily turned her head at the last instant, catching his lips on her cheek. "Eeeek!" she shrieked, frantically rubbing her face. "Potter, your lips are _freezing_!"

James grinned maniacally. "No, _Evans_," he retorted, "your face is warm." He inched closer, hoping for another kiss, then gasped in horror as he felt his feet slip on a nasty patch of ice. The world spun crazily as he pitched forward, and he opened his eyes at Lily's surprised yelp. They both lay sprawled on the ground, and James realized that the reason for her surprisingly blurry features lay in a snow bank several feet away. "Stupid glasses," he muttered, then realized just how close Lily's face was. He waggled his eyebrows fiendishly, causing Lily to erupt into uncontrollable giggles.

Sirius cleared his throat loudly. "Ahem." He shielded his eyes with one hand in mock horror and disgust. "If you two are going to do that, do you mind getting a room?"

Remus rolled his eyes and obligingly fetched James's glasses from the snow. He handed them back to an embarrassed James, who clambered hastily to his feet, shoved the glasses onto his nose, and extended a hand down to Lily, who was still chuckling on the ground.

Peter, who had remained miraculously silent through the entire event, piped up, "I'm hungry, you guys. When can we get something to eat?" He glanced longingly down the street towards the bakery, his nose twitching slightly.

Sirius laughed loudly. "Wormtail, you're always hungry! Hey, you guys see that? His nose is twitching even when he isn't a rat!"

Lily laughed merrily, and grabbing James by the hand, danced off towards the Three Broomsticks. James glanced back and, raising his voice over the howling wind, bellowed, "Come on, you lot! My parents just sent me some gold last week, so drinks are on me!"

Sirius, Remus, and Peter exchanged amused looks. "If he has as many firewhiskeys as he did last time," Remus laughed, "the drinks really will be on him, and all over his robes, too!"

The inside of the Three Broomsticks was, as always, warm and inviting, though a little less crowded. People looked up nervously as the door opened to admit Lily and the Marauders, perhaps expecting Death Eaters to slip inside and wreak havoc in these dangerous times. Everyone relaxed at the sight of the group, whose faces were quite well-known in Hogsmeade, and Hagrid waved cheerily from a table near the fire.

James swallowed around the lump in his throat, and took a few deep breaths to calm himself. Giving Lily what he hoped was a reassuring smile, he ordered five firewhiskeys and, grabbing the drinks, led the others over to Hagrid's table. "Hi, Hagrid! Having a good Christmas?" He sat down and nervously fiddled with his bottle.

"Hmm, what? Oh, yeah, yeah, bin great so far." Hagrid's dark eyes quickly scanned the room as he lowered his voice. "Waitin' for the Prewett boys ter get here so I can get back to me cabin; still have a few Christmas trees I gotta get back ter the school. Dumbledore's got some of the Order stationed all around Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley, y'know, an' they're supposed ter be here any minute now."

"Yeah, we heard about that," Sirius said quietly. "Remus and I were on guard duty in Diagon Alley just a few days ago. Dumbledore had us guarding the entrance to Knockturn Alley, what with that incident last week and all."

Remus nodded in agreement. "James lent us his Invisibility Cloak, since he was off at his parents' place then. Dumbledore reckoned the Aurors weren't enough, if someone could make off with a load of Dark poisons on their watch, so he sent us to keep a lookout."

Hagrid lowered his voice even more, so that the others had to lean close to hear him. "I hear that what's really got Dumbledore on edge is what else was taken. The way I hear it, whoever stole those poisons made off with a couple o' books, too. Real old, they were, and full of nasty Dark stuff. Stuff even Death Eaters would be afraid ter know." He stirred uneasily and shuddered, then took another gigantic swig of firewhiskey.

Seizing the opportunity, James clapped a hand to his forehead and swore loudly. "Oh, bollocks, that reminds me! Mum asked me if I could pick up some books for her while we were here today, and the bookstore is closing in a few minutes!" He drained the last of his firewhiskey, scratched the end of his nose, and stood. "Lil, do you mind staying here for a few minutes while I run over and get those books?"

As Lily shook her head, a bit puzzled, Remus, Sirius, and Peter shot out of their seats. "You know what? I think we'll go with him," Sirius said with a bark of laughter. "You know how he gets when he's had firewhiskey, Lily, can't remember a thing for more than a few seconds."

Lily gave James a curious look, but shrugged and resumed a whispered conversation with Hagrid as the Marauders headed for the door. Then she sat up straight as Sirius pulled James's Invisibility Cloak from beneath his coat. "You know, I think I'll follow them, Hagrid, I don't like the looks of that Cloak; whenever that comes out, it usually means those boys are up to something." She stood and pulled her hat and gloves back on. "Well, Happy Christmas, Hagrid, tell the Prewetts I said hello!"

Lily opened the door, shivering as she realized the charm James had put around her had worn off, and started scanning the nearly deserted road. She sighed and crossed the street to the bookstore, earning a slightly put-out look from the storekeeper as she entered the shop. "Miss, we close in five minutes," the irritated woman said, pointing her wand at the sign on the door. "Yes, yes, I know," Lily grumbled as she searched the shop for any other customers. "I'm sorry, but did four gentlemen come in here before me? One had black hair and glasses.."

"Oh, yes, dear," the woman said, her smile warming a bit. "Quite polite they were, too. The one with glasses, now, he looked like he was up to something, he did." She raised her eyebrows and pointed to the tiny table-filled back of the store. "Bought some things from the café, he did, then they all left, giggling like schoolgirls."

Lily suppressed a groan of dismay and annoyance. "Well, thank you," she called over her shoulder as she left.

"Any time, dearie," the witch called back before the door shut, the bells tied to its handle jingling slightly in the wind. "Oh, wait!" She dashed out the door, panting slightly. "You might not want to follow them, Miss."

Lily stared at the woman, quite certain she had gone mad. "Why not? I mean," she blushed slightly, "that was my boyfriend and his mates; they're always up to something."

The witch shuddered slightly. "They was headed up to the Shrieking Shack, dear, and talking about a girl, they was, sayin' as how she was going to be mad they were late."


	2. Chapter 2

Lily's eyes widened in shock. "Oh," she managed in a tiny voice. "I see. Well, thanks for the warning." Tears swam in her eyes as the woman clucked sympathetically and went back into her shop. Lily's tear-filled eyes found the snowy street, and narrowed as they fell upon fresh paw prints. She followed the tracks to the end of the street, her eyes narrowing even further as they spotted the delicately cloven hoof prints of a stag, and a little further on, what looked like tiny rodent tracks. A pair of human footprints exactly the size and shape of Remus's snowboots finished off the clues.

Hot, salty tears slipped down her cheeks into the snow. "Talking about meeting a girl up there?" she whispered to herself. With a choked wail of despair, Lily fled back down the street, neither knowing nor caring where she was going. She felt her feel slip out from under her, and with a cry, she landed face first on the ground in front of the Hog's Head pub. A noise that was half scream, half sob tore from her throat as she lay there on the frozen ground.

"Who the devil?" asked a gruff voice as the door to the Hog's Head opened. "Wand out, yeh bloody fool, it might be one of them!"

Lily raised her head from the snow and stared at a booted foot, next to which stood a rather solid stick of wood, and groaned.

Alastor Mad-Eye Moody blinked in surprise as Lily's tearstained face came into view. "What the devil are yeh doing down there?" His whirling magical eye took in her red-rimmed eyes and disheveled appearance, and his good eye widened slightly. He extended a hand down to Lily and pulled her to her feet with a small grunt of exertion. "What happened to yeh, lass? No, never mind that," he corrected himself as Lily merely stared vacantly at him. "Let's get yeh inside first, shall we?" With a gentleness unexpected from such a fierce-looking wizard, he led Lily into the empty pub. "Yeh can put that wand away, Dung," he growled, "it's one of ours." He glared around the room. "Dung? Ehh, snuck away again, did yeh?" He rolled his eyes and muttered, "Bloomin' coward."

Lily collapsed into a chair and buried her face in her arms.

Moody sighed and pulled an handkerchief from the pocket of his robes. He handed it to Lily, who wiped her streaming eyes and sniffled a watery 'thank you'. Pulling up a chair next to her, Moody put an arm around Lily's shoulders. "Now, lass, suppose yeh tell old Moody what happened, eh? Did someone attack yeh?"

Lily shook her head before dissolving into fresh sobs. "They- they s-said they were g-going to the b-b-bookstore," she hiccupped.

"They?" Moody asked, raising his eyebrows. "I take it yeh mean Potter and Black and the other two?"

Lily nodded and sniffled. "I went to the bookstore to f-find them, but the shopkeeper said th-they went up to the Shrieking Shack."

Moody frowned, not understanding. "But don't they go up there all the time? I mean," he lowered his voice slightly, "what with Remus's, er, 'condition' and all, maybe they forgot something up there, eh?"

"She said they were meeting a _girl_!" Lily wailed, collapsing forward onto the table again. Her entire body shook with the force of her sobs.

Moody's eyes widened slightly in understanding. "Ohhh, I see." He drew Lily's head to his shoulder and patted her back gently. "There, there, lassie, I'm sure it isn't what yeh think. There's probably another explanation for all this, no need to fret about it."

Lily disentangled herself from Moody's comforting arms and stood, one hand wrapped tightly around her waist, clutching her wand, the other propped up against her chin. "I just don't know what to do any more, Mad-Eye!" She stamped her foot in exasperation. "And this isn't the first time this month I've caught them sneaking off somewhere! The last time, it was a jewelry store, and they denied ever going there! The time before that, James came to my house with something that looked like lipstick on his cheek! _Lipstick_, Mad-Eye! And the time before that-"

"Now, now, calm down, Lily," Moody said. "I'm sure there's been a mistake-"

Lily laughed hysterically, a high, wild laugh Moody had never heard from her before. "A mistake? A _mistake_?! Oh, yes, there's been a mistake, Mad-Eye, a mistake that _kissed_ my boyfriend! A _mistake_ that he's even now sneaking off to- to- to _snog_!" She threw her wand onto the table and began pacing like an angry cat.

Before Moody could say another word, the door flew open with a crash. Two dark-cloaked figures entered the tiny pub, wands drawn. "_Expelliarmus_!" Moody's wand flew out of his hand to clatter onto the floor. The closer of the two stuffed a dark hood over Lily's head and gave Moody a wink. The other swooped down and snatched up her discarded wand from the table, and handed Moody a piece of folded-up parchment, on which was written _Do Not Follow Us, Read This Letter Right Away…Please_. The pair hustled a shrieking, screaming Lily out the door. Moody bolted out of his chair to follow, but it was too late. The three had already Disapparated.

Moody sat down heavily and unfolded the piece of parchment. As he read, his eyes widened and a grin slowly spread across his face. By the end of the letter, his eyes were sparkling with mirth. "Good luck, boys," he chuckled, "I hope she forgives you for this."


	3. Chapter 3

Lily hit the ground hard and fell to her knees. Scrambling to her feet, she tore the hood off her head, spat a few clinging strands of hair out of her mouth, and threw herself at her nearest kidnapper, fully intending to claw his eyes out. "You're not going to get me alive!" she screamed furiously, secretly terrified out of her mind. "You can tell him," she raged, kicking and snarling, "that it'll take more than two Death Eaters to overcome Lily Evans!"

The second of the pair grabbed her by the shoulders, threw back his hood, and shook her hard several times. "Lily, relax!" hissed Remus. "It's just Peter and I."

Lily blinked several times, swore violently, and threw herself at Remus. "You bloody bastard!" she shrieked. "What was that for?! Kidnapping me just for the-" She looked around. "The Whomping Willow?" she said to herself, puzzled.

Remus gingerly handed Lily her wand. "Now, Lily," he began in what he hoped was a soothing voice, "I know it's all a bit confusing, but I promise, everything will be explained in a bit." He breathed a sigh of relief as a rat scurried over to the Whomping Willow and depressed the know on it's trunk, causing the tree to freeze instantly.

Lily's green eyes narrowed to slits as she pointed her wand straight at Remus's heart. "It had better be explained," she growled.

Remus swallowed hard and gestured at the frozen tree. "After you, madam." He bowed deeply. "The answers lie at the end of the tunnel, I assure you."

Lily tossed her head and marched over to the tree. She crouched down and slipped into the tunnel, and stalked forward, fully intending to find James and tear his heart from his chest. She stopped dead and gasped in surprise. The usually dank, dark tunnel shone brightly in the glow of thousands of candles. Taking a tentative step forwards, she caught her breath and stared at the packed earth of the tunnel floor. Every inch was strewn with soft, fresh, red, rose petals. She turned confused eyes towards Remus and Peter. Peter grinned widely. Remus merely gave a mysterious smile and said, "It was you he was talking about in the bookstore, Lily."

Sirius appeared at the end of the tunnel. "Oi, is she here yet?" he called. His gaze fell upon Lily and his entire demeanor changed. Drawing himself up straight, he straightened his robes and grinned. "Well, well, well, look who decided to drop in. Welcome, Lily Evans." He bowed deeply, his dark eyes shining, and jogged down the length of the tunnel. "Well, mustn't keep him waiting, Lily dear." Seeing Lily's bemused look, Sirius placed gentle hands on her shoulders and guided her forwards.

The trapdoor of the Shrieking Shack sprang open, and Sirius clambered out, long with Remus and Peter, then stooped to help Lily. Lily's mouth fell open as she took in the once-dismal shack. Candles glittered everywhere, illuminating glitter-dusted cobwebs. Rose petals dropped softly from the ceiling to land at her feet. To finish off the surreal moment, Lily swore she could hear soft violin music playing from above her.

Smiling, Remus gently shoved Lily to the stairs. "Well, go on!"

Lily stumbled up the stairs, in awe of the glimmering lights and flowers. "In there," Sirius said, indicating a door to the left. Apprehensive, Lily gently turned the handle, and the door swung open. The room before her was like something out of a fairy tale book. Candles lined the walls, and a bouquet of fresh roses sat on the table. She peered curiously around the room. "James? Are you in here?"

The door slammed shut. Lily jumped, then smiled as she heard the sound of a hand making contact with the back of a head, and, "Wormtail, you dunce, I said close the door softly!"

"I hope the guys didn't scare you too badly, Lily," James said as he stepped out of the shadows. "And don't worry, they left Mad-Eye a note explaining everything. Well," he glanced nervously at the door, "they were _supposed_ to leave him a note, anyways."

"We did leave him the note, you great prat!" shouted Sirius on the other side of the door. "Now will you please bloody get on with it?! OW!"

"What Sirius means to say, James," called Remus, "is, well…you know. Good luck, mate!"

Lily looked from the door to James in confusion. "Good luck with what? James, this is all very beautiful, but I don't see-"

The violin music suddenly stopped and James held up a hand to halt Lily's questions. He plunged a hand into the right pocket of his robe, and Lily suddenly realized he was wearing not his usual holiday Muggle attire, but formal dress robes. James opened the tiny box cradled in his hand and withdrew the hand from his pocket. Lily gasped, pressed a hand to her heart, and stumbled back against the door as James dropped to one knee, holding out an exquisite golden ring set with a small, sparkling diamond that shone like dragon fire. "Lily, dear, I know you're upset about my 'wandering off' lately, but it was all for this night, you see. The jewelry store was for this, and the lipstick…" He blushed slightly. "That was from your mother kissing me on the cheek after I told her that I wanted to…" He drew a shaky breath then, before he lost his nerve, said "Lily Evans, will you marry me? I know, I've been a terrible git and a prat and there's really no reason you should-"

Tears streamed freely down Lily's face, but this time they were tears of joy. She reached down and pulled James to his feet, then kissed him full on the lips. "Of course I will, you silly man," she cried, as James slipped the ring onto her finger.

The door flew open with a resounding crash. Sirius, Remus, and Peter spilled into the room, cheering, and Sirius pulled a glass bottle from under his robes. "Everybody stand back!" he roared. "I'm not quite sure how to open this thing!" There was the muffled bang of the cork shooting out of the bottle, and champagne foam spilled over Sirius's hands as Remus conjured up five crystal goblets.

Sirius swept Lily up into a hug, and Peter banged James enthusiastically on the back, when there was an ominous thud from the hallway.

James shoved Lily behind him, and the four Marauders faced the door with wands drawn.

"I don't suppose yeh thought to invite me to this little party of yours? Seein' as how the two of yeh nearly gave me a bleedin' heart attack!" Mad-Eye Moody stumped into the room and gave James a keen glance. "Said yes, did she?" he asked, eyes twinkling.


	4. Chapter 4

Dumbledore stood and raised his hands for silence. "Now, before we go this evening to our own Christmas festivities, I have a few announcements." The room fell silent as each and every person looked up from the table. "Unfortunately, I have some bad news. Many of you have heard rumors that Gideon and Fabian Prewett are dead." He sighed and looked at the floor. "Most regretfully, these rumors are true. They were killed two days ago in Diagon Alley while on guard duty." Gasps and moans flared up throughout the room. "This means, of course, that the rest of us must take extreme caution, even while not on business related to the Order of the Phoenix. I have been told by their sister, Molly, that they fought very bravely."

"But I also have some very good news, that will, hopefully, lighten our spirits. I have been recently informed that two of our members have declared their intentions to wed." Dumbledore gestured to Lily and James. "Miss Evans, Mr. Potter, would you please stand? As of August eleventh of next year, we will be welcoming Lily and James _Potter_ among us at the meetings." His blue eyes flashed merrily. "James tells me that Miss Lily," he bowed his head to Lily in acknowledgement, "accepted his proposal five days ago."

The room broke into applause as people left their seats to congratulate the happy couple.

Dumbledore raised his goblet high into the air, the rest of the Order following suit. "To Lily and James Potter: may their life together be long and happy, and give each other, and those around them, hope in these troubling times."

"To the Potters!"


End file.
